Integrating 3D Printing into Teaching and Learning

Three dimensional or 3D printing technology is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. Currently, low cost and affordable 3D printers enable teachers, schools, and higher education institutions to make 3D printing a part of the curriculum. Integrating 3D printing into the curriculum provides an opportunity for students to collaboratively discuss, design, and create 3D objects. The literature reveals that there are numerous advantages of integrating 3D printing into teaching and learning. Educators recommend that 3D printing should be introduced to the students at a young age to teach STEM concepts, develop creativity and engage in team work - essential skills for the 21st century work force. This edited volume documents recent attempts to integrate 3D printing into the curriculum in schools and universities and research on its efficacies and usefulness from the practitioners' perspectives. It unveils the exemplary works by educators and researchers in the field highlighting the current trends, theoretical and practical aspects of 3D printing in teaching and learning. Contributors are: Waleed K. Ahmed, Issah M. Alhamad, Hayder Z. Ali, Nagla Ali, Hamad AlJassmi,Jason Beach, Jennifer Buckingham, Michael Buckingham, Dean Cairns, Manisha Dayal, Muhammet Demirbilek, Yujiro Fujiwara, Anneliese Hulme, Myint Swe Khine, Lee Kenneth Jones, Jennifer Loy, Kehui Luo, Elena Novak, James I. Novak, Joshua Pearce, Dorothy Belle Poli, Chelsea Schelly, Min Jeong Song, Sylvia Stavridi, Lisa Stoneman, Goran Strkalj, Mirjana Strkalj, Pamela Sullivan, Jeremy Wendt, Stephanie Wendt, and Sonya Wisdom.